Stevenson's Rocket

 

Stevenson's Rocket

by Pete Clemons

This article is adapted from an interview during December 1975. At the time, musically, the country was in the grip of Rollermania. The meeting had been conducted at the offices of Magnet Records soon after the band had signed for them. Pete Waterman, despite writing two hits for them, called Stevenson's Rocket 'a brief diversion'........

Leaving school for the front man spot in a rock n roll group must have been every young person's idea of a dream come true, but that exactly what happened to 16 year old Kevin Harris during 1975.

Just six months after he turned down an apprenticeship in a Coventry factory, Kevin was having to deal with the sort of fan mania usually associated with the Bay City Rollers.

Everywhere his group, Stevenson's Rocket, played the fans went bonkers. And this was because of their debut single, Alright Baby, was streaking up the charts.

Of course, it didn't happen just like that, Stevenson's Rocket had been slogging around the gruelling social club circuit (all beer and bingo) when they happened to get a booking at Tiffany's ballroom. There they were spotted by then Magnet Records A and R executive Pete Waterman who still ran a disco there.

Pete recognised something raw and earthy in them and decided to take them under his wing. He signed them to Magnet, got them to give up the soul destroying club circuit and before they set out to play ballroom's, made them rehearse for three months on a new act.

When it came to cutting the single they played all the instruments themselves then, with its release, they began gigging.

As Kevin pointed out 'it was only through doing a lot of work that we got that chance. We didn't doss about, we got stuck in'.

Bass player Allan Twigg, who at 18 was one of the older band members, said 'some days we used to go without dinner, we were working so hard. But it's better than working in a factory '.

The group formed around 1972 but only went professional after a guitarist left and was replaced by Mick Croshaw who, at 19, became the eldest group member and Kevin Harris.

Stevenson's Rocket still played the social clubs but as drummer Steve Bray mentioned 'we got a much better reaction with the new line up'.

Mick Croshaw added 'Particularly after Kevin joined us things really started to move. And Allan Twigg, he is non stop entertainment '.

Suddenly all of Stevenson's Rocket at once and the office at Magnet Records where the band were doing their first day of interviews was a cacophony of noise.

'Its a dream, you know' said keyboard player David Reid who summed up everyone's thoughts.

'We all had dreams of hit records and what it would be like' said Steve Bray. Kevin added that 'he always wanted to be in a group. When I knew I could earn a bit more than as an apprentice I thought I would take a chance. When I went to the audition I knew I had to join them, even if they were rubbish. If it hadn't worked we would have all had it' he exclaimed. They had worked so hard for this.
The result of all that practice was an aim to perform four or five nights per week. There would be no more sleeping in the van and jumping their own equipment.

On the day of the interview they were due in Scotland but first they had returned to Coventry to help their new road manager with their equipment. Then, after Scotland, they were being joined by a full road crew.

As for writing their own songs, 'its too early to say. Pete Waterman wrote their current hit and is likely to guide them for some time, but eventually they all want to write.

'I dont think we have the talent yet to write our own singles' said Kevin. 'There's a lot more involved than meets the eye. You've got to know what a pop song is all about. We would like to make pop music a bit more interesting '.

The fact that Stevenson's Rocket were being re-booked at venues suggested that they were doing just that.

A couple of singles followed but then it all came to an end with a changing music scene.

The Damned – Warwick University 1976

 

The Damned – Warwick University 1976

by Pete Clemons

The Damned were the first UK band of the punk era to release a record. They were also the first to split and subsequently reform. They were chaotic, they were charismatic. And they are still here, still touring and remain almost intact in fact. Experience has made them infinitely better almost 60 years on.

Almost as soon as it had begun punk rock was castigated by the Warwick University entertainment section as punk rock was trying to infiltrate into their scene. The fact this new phenomenon was given prominence by SOUNDS magazine had one promoter lambasted them when he read how a group called "The Damned", had created the splash headline 'DAMNED HEAD FOR THE CHARTS'.

He went on "SOUNDS has yet again taken upon itself to ram punk rock down the throat of the unsuspecting public. Now don't get me wrong, I'll sniff glue with the next degenerate, and there's no one I'd rather see in London today than a good punk rock band go through its paces, but for a music paper to come out with such fallacies is just not on".

Apparently the Damned's first single, for the obscure 'Stiff' label, sold 4,000 copies, when a sale of 25,000 was usually needed even to make the lower reaches of the Top Thirty.

A delegate from Warwick University even went down to London to watch The Damned during autumn 1976. And the verdict was...'boy, were they (expletive deleted). The barrage of sound that emanated from on-stage was greeted not even by what one could call polite applause by the attendance, the majority of which were all seasoned punksters'. Despite this The Damned were, soon after that London gig, visiting Warwick Uni.

The Pink Fairies were a part of the London underground scene of the early 1970s. They were known for promoting free music and performing impromptu gigs and stunts. The Fairies had released a single during 1976 on Stiff Records called 'Between the Lines C/W 'Spoiling For a Fight'. So pairing up with label mates The Damned was not as far fetched as it might seem.

Later during October 1976 appeared The Damned's first single, titled 'New Rose' c/w 'Help', was also released on Stiff Records. The single had been produced by Nick Lowe and regarded as the first ever 'punk' release by a UK band. New Rose failed to chart but became Stiff's biggest seller to date and helped the label secure a distribution deal with Island Records.

Before the gig The Damned asked the promotion team at Warwick if they were scared. The answer apparently was 'No, and also unimpressed .... Don't call us'.

Climax Blues Band had also been in the mix for that Autumn line up of entertainment. A song played during the CBB set was described as 'at least one billion times better than the Damned's Help'.

There is also anecdotal evidence that The Damned also appeared a week later at Canley Teacher Training College. It had been freshers week and the normal festival balls had been arranged. Sparrow, a five piece, new faces show winner from Feb 1976 were certainly on the bill. But I did read that The Damned also possibly appeared. But there was, by admission, the student had maybe got mixed up by the previous weeks events on campus.

Less than a year later had seen 'Punk', as a phenomenon, grow to far greater proportions than one can have envisaged the year before, even taking into account the undoubted impetus given by the press coverage devoted to the Pistols v Grundy T.V. incident.

As a result you never actually sure who actually is into the music. Punk had cast its net wide. Was it the latest thing to be 'into', or did repeated listening to it make a different impact to the initial one. But there was another, more important, reason.

To many, the music itself had improved in terms of its quality, content and impact. Presentation had been the last aspect a punk band would once have to worry about. Aside the likes of Television and The Stranglers who just happened to surface around the same time as the likes of The Clash, The Adverts and the Pistols.

But there were plenty of other bands who are producing attention grabbing yet really red hot sounds. There was The Jam, Buzzcocks, Generation X, Boomtown Rats to name a few – but the list goes on. I don't know how or why the change had evolved the way it did, but my word, it certainly got the adrenalin rushing!